Pioneer Tunnel

I visited the tunnel several times as a child but my husband had never been there. It’s one of those places that as a kid you thought it was really neat but as an adult, it’s lame. The «guide,» although very loud, was knowledgeable. The woman who sold us the tickets was snobby.

You have to know what you are getting into to understand the 4 Star Score.
LOCATION:? STARS
It is way off the beaten path, ie Interstates, but that is where the coal mine is.
STEAM TRAIN RIDE, LOCOMOTIVE: 4.5 STARS
Old tanker live steam. Beautiful snorting beast.
STEAM TRAIN RIDE, COMFORT AND SCENERY: 1 STAR
No scenery. The most bone jarring, tooth dislodging train ride I have ever been on. The rails are all over the place. The wheels are original, ie square by now, and the cars have no springs.
RIDE INTO THE BOWELS OF THE MINE: 4 STARS
One leaves fully understanding what horror holes these places were to work in. The narrator did a great job of filling us in on the intricacies of working in such a place. Life was cheap in the Mines. Men and donkeys with over dilated eyes went blind from the transition to the sun above. The braking system for the four ton cars was young lads running beside the cars jamming sticks into the spokes of the wheel, often experiencing amputation.
If a head of household dies in a mine accident not due to his negligence, the Company went to his house, to see if there was a male old enough to take his place in the mines to pay off his debt to The Company store for rent and food. If no such individual was there, they tossed his wife and kids out on the street.
SUMMARY
If you are looking for a polished Disneyworld type experience, this is not it. This is an old school sort of attraction. If you are interested in this sort of thing, it is very good.

Nice little outfit. Seems that the steam train is always broken and I hear they are getting rid of it. The mine seems a little too clean for my taste, as if they power wash it or something! The ride is short and the walk is pretty short. The place feels morel Ike a museum than a working mine. Not a lot of snakes, bats or mummies either in there.
The tours are conducted by knowledgeable folk, most of them who ether worked the mine themselves or family who did; no snooty NYC types, or hipsters who think this life is ironic; real miners! Oh, and don’t wear your Subnday’s best, it may be a museum mine, but it’s not exactly a place for an OCD clean freak!
Even if it’s like 90 degrees outside, you will need a sweater as it is like 50 inside the mine. You can actually feel a blast of cold air as you approach the mine. Guides are knowledgeable, though the shop guys seem a bit rough around the edges for that authentic coal miner feeling. Shout, «Nuke power forever» and see if you can experience the true feelings of a coal miner!
The general store is nice, and there are plenty of thingies for the kids to get if you like to spend money on the kids; I don’t, but I don’t have any that I know of, but if I did, I’d take them here, just not buy them much cause they’d probably break whatever I bought them or toss it out the car window while on the interstate. Stupid kids, I don’t even have!
While in the area, Centralia is a short five minute drive away, though most everything in town is gone, and there’s no smoke billowing out of the ground like on the 60 Minutes, but still a nice side trip.

Went on Tuesday, just as amazing as I remember it from when I was a kid!!! Our tour guide, «Jack» was the best!

A little off the beaten path, this experience allows you to take a ride into a coal mine that was closed during the Great Depression. Take an old mine cart into the depths of the mountain and explore the veins while a certified miner explains everything you’re seeing, as well as the history of the area. Considered one of the largest anthracite coal veins in the Northeast, the area still shows remnants of the coalminers’ lifestyle. Then, hop aboard the salvaged Narrow Gauge Steam Train and take a trip up the mountain. From the top, you’ll get a history of the area, and, if you’re lucky and it’s a clear day, you might catch a glimpse of the area near Centralia, Pennsylvania. When you reach the top of Mahanoy Mountain, you’ll get to see another type of mining – Mammoth Stripping.
We went on a rainy day, and it was still running. The history is intriguing, the trip into the depths of the mountain is incredibly bumpy, and the views from the top of the mountain are breathtaking. If you’re a history buff, or just interested in the lifestyle of central Pennsylvania during the coal boom, then this is worth the stop.